The Snubs & Surprises Of The 2012 Emmy Nominations

You can't please everyone. And award ceremonies, in particular, never please everybody. Voted for by a small group, who are more often than not much older than those in the media, or who watch the shows, awards nominations and the eventual winners are generally frustrating, whether it's in the music, movie or television world. And this year's batch of Emmy nods are no exception.

You can't please everyone. And award ceremonies, in particular, never please everybody. Voted for by a small group, who are more often than not much older than those in the media, or who watch the shows, awards nominations and the eventual winners are generally frustrating, whether it's in the music, movie or television world. And this year's batch of Emmy nods are no exception.

Topped by "Downton Abbey," "American Horror Story" and "Modern Family," among others, the Emmys mostly showed a general love for established names (there's no easier way to get an Emmy nod than by having one the year before, and your show still being on the air). But even so, there were a few big snubs, and a few major surprises (some pleasant, some less so). Below, we've run down the major ones; if there were those you were surprised by yourself, or feel are undeserved, let us know in the comments section.

TV Movies/Miniseries
Of the three distinct fiction categories, this is the one we were most on top of in our predictions; some commentators had dismissed "American Horror Story" and "Hatfields & McCoys," but they, along with HBO's "Game Change" and "Hemingway & Gellhorn," were the big winners. At their expense, the big casualty was "Page Eight." David Hare's spy drama starring Bill Nighy, Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz and Felicity Jones picked up BAFTA and Golden Globe nods, but could only manage a nomination for supporting actress Judy Davis.

The BBC's other great hope, the superb adaptation of "Great Expectations," also missed out entirely, as did Lifetime's all-star "Five," although the BBC's "Luther" and "Sherlock" both did extremely well, and deservedly so. Less successful was "The Hour," which only got a nomination for Abi Morgan's writing, and the excellent true-life serial killer tale "Appropriate Adult," which had performances from Dominic West and Emily Watson far more worthy of awards than most of those nominated. But clearly, it didn't connect with voters, and it's not too hard to see why.